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What would be your perfect 14-Day Cotswolds itinerary?

What would be your perfect 14-Day Cotswolds itinerary?

Old Jun 21st, 2021, 07:57 AM
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An example of a Broadway-Broadway Tower-Snowshill circular: https://my.viewranger.com/route/details/MTA1NzMx

Google will show you other websites with variations. Or just do as I did, plot your own. You don't need anyone's permission to go your own way as long as you're using public paths & roads. After Snowshill Manor I walked straight down Snowshill Road (very pretty) to Broadway after walking from Chipping Campden that day & was walked out. That's what's great about the OS Maps, do it any way that appeals at time.
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 08:51 AM
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There are many local reports about difficulties booking accommodation in the Cotswolds and the West of England, as well as reports of pubs and restaurants opening restricted hours because they cannot get staff, but I think this must be the first time we have had anyone staying at Alderton. There is a pub at Alderton (The Gardener's Arms) which offers more than a traditional menu, as it includes okra and black bean jambalaya in its plant-based section. If you want to travel a little further, we have had some good meals at the Rattlebone Inn at Sherston, which is a small old town with a typical wide market street, also seldom mentioned here. Another option would be the Kings Arms at Didmarton, but there are many good meals to be had at unexpected places in this affluent area.

Because times are so uncertain, it is certainly worth phoning and booking when you are here.
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 09:07 AM
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Wow, thanks, I'll check those maps out and download apps if there are any MmePerdu ChgoGal I've never used any online map other than Google maps, and it's been ages since I used traditional paper maps (although I love those!) Good point about tech/reception in remote areas! Given that Google maps act up very often anyway, it's good to have "back ups"
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 09:44 AM
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Thank you for the suggestions chartley! Could't find The Gardener's Arms, as it seems there are several pubs with the same name around Cotswolds area. Moreover, The Gardener's Arms in place called Alderton in Tewkesbury But I'm taking a note of it in case we end up staying there. Rattlebone Inn is 7 min. away from the place we booked. Sounds like Alderton isn't a typical stop for tourists; can be nice to explore places away from off-beaten paths sometimes
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Adelya
. . . The Gardener's Arms in place called Alderton in Tewkesbury . . .
Someone will clarify more, I'm sure, but in England you'll find small places are further identified with the name of the largest community in the area, as well as the county. So when you're looking for a place in an online map it helps to know the general area in which it's located so you find the correct one with that name.

For instance, in the case of Alderton, I see 5, Alderton, Tewkesbury (Gardener's Arms on Google maps). Alderton, Chippenham (not far away). Alderton, Woodbridge. Alderton, Towcester. Alderton, Shrewsbury. So good to have a general idea so you don't end up in the wrong one.

Using the postcode in a map search you can't go wrong, a 6 or 7 digit combination of letters & numbers. It'll be in the address of the place you're staying & no 2 locations share a postcode, it's an exact place (building). Gardener's Arms postcode is GL20 8NL. Put it into Google maps or Streetmap even without the "UK" & it'll take you there. Genius.

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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 11:15 AM
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MmeP - I hate to break it to you but that's not exactly correct. For example, there are some 8 addresses that share our postcode, spread out over about half a square mile, or so of Cornish countryside. That's by no means unique - where we used to live in Kent, 6 houses in the same road shared a post code with us.


Last edited by annhig; Jun 21st, 2021 at 11:16 AM. Reason: spoiler inserted itself unexpectedly
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 11:43 AM
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Originally Posted by annhig
MmeP - I hate to break it to you but that's not exactly correct. For example, there are some 8 addresses that share our postcode, spread out over about half a square mile, or so of Cornish countryside. That's by no means unique - where we used to live in Kent, 6 houses in the same road shared a post code with us.

Excellent, all I have is my limited perspective & I was hoping someone would come along to correct me if needed. Thank you. Maybe the general suggestion still applies, though, a postcode will get her into close proximity more often than a village name alone. I'm pretty sure that much is true! Cheers.


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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 11:56 AM
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Alderton Tewksbury and Alderton Chippenham are 50 miles apart.

The Gardeners Arms is in the Tewksbury Alderton. Manor Farm B&B is in the Chippenham Alderton.

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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 02:00 PM
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I'd be very careful with British village names, there will be a local logic based on info about 500 years old. I'd use village name and postcode to confirm I had the right name.

Despite being British I recently got this wrong myself, so check. If in doubt we have a crazy new system called "what three words" which works down to the 5 sq metre level. Still in beta but useful.
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 02:23 PM
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Originally Posted by bilboburgler
. . . we have a crazy new system called "what three words" which works down to the 5 sq metre level. . .
I saw a program about that some time ago. Fascinating & ingenious, just the sort of thing you over there have been coming up with for centuries & practicing in the colonies. Too bad you can't be as creative with village names in such a small country. On the other hand I guess if there's a good name it'd be a waste to just use it once.
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 02:44 PM
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RE: Ordnance Survey Map and Compass, Battery Backup
Hi, Adelya. For your own peace of mind, please do carry a real compass and a map, and practice with the compass a bit before you go. It's not as intuitive as you'd imagine (at least it's not for me--I tend to pivot my body around like an idiot the first few times using it), and it takes a bit of practice to know you're reading it correctly when connected to a map. The Cotswold Way is way-marked, but sometimes that trail disappears/is hard to see, and you want to be sure you're headed in the right direction. Hopefully, your google maps will work fine, but just in case. Maybe ask your travel partner to conserve his/her battery, too, by turning off call data for non-essential apps. Or carry a mobile backup battery.

Not necessary, but I always made a color copy of the map for just the portion of the walk I was doing, then laminated it. It was always rolled and tucked beneath my backpack strap in front of my chest. I used it constantly as I never used tech, and have reused b/c it's durable.

RE: Painswick's Standish Wood
Navigating is especially challenging in a wood--which, if you do a walk from Painswick, you'll probably travers a wooded area if you head toward Stroud/Stonehouse/Kings Stanley. It is lovely to walk through, but I had a really difficult time on my Painswick-Kings Stanley walk, and ended up stopping at Stroud after I was beginning to panic trying to navigate the Standish Wood b/c the trail forks all over the place. Also, before the wood, that particular walk bends a LOT, so you're using your compass constantly. It's nice if you're walking with a partner, too. Changes it from scary to exhilarating/challenging. Also, on a weekend, you'll see the locals on the walk, which is also really nice. The day I walked, no one was on the trail.

RE: Starting the Walk
Always for me, the hardest part of a walk is finding the starting point, so I wouldn't be embarrassed to ask if someone can point you in the right direction. Chipping Campen's start to the Cotswold Way had a very small sign if I recall, and it took me a while to find it. Once I did, it was pretty great.
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 11:23 PM
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Originally Posted by MmePerdu
. Too bad you can't be as creative with village names in such a small country. On the other hand I guess if there's a good name it'd be a waste to just use it once.

Just to play this game. Are there really 14 Birminghams in the US....?

One reason for the multiple use of these names. When William 1 invaded the country he carefully split the property he gave to his gang so that the the properties were far apart. The idea that they would not be able to mount any competition to his rule if they had to spend so much time traveling between their sites of wealth. Hence you might have Dave's Hill and Dave's Forest far apart. That also worked down at junior gang member levels so a name might be for the whole valley and have a bunch of names within the valley all with slight variations.

Then again how often would you want to use "Three Legged Cross"?
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Old Jun 21st, 2021, 11:44 PM
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On postcodes

Ultimately, British postcodes can often describe very tiny areas - but high-level generalisations about their specificity. in the UK can easily be misleading. In most of Britain, a full postcode can have 7 digits (XX99 9YY) and (eg my own) can cover up to 20 or even 30 separate houses. Equally, individual firms within an office block can have their own individual postcode, as do some individual departments of large mail-using organisations

But what's almost unheard of is for there to be two pubs with the same bit of the code before the last two letters (XX99.9).The whole point of pub names is to distinguish one from another, so no-one in the past 500 years will have chosen the same name for their pub as one on the other side of the road. OTOH, it's not at all rare for there to be two pubs with very similar names in the "XX99" bit, because references to long-standing local landowning families frequently inspire pub names, and the "xx99" bit can (as mine does) easily cover spaces with a 5 or even 10 mile radius. If anyone wants to be precise (and I plan political leaflet distributions as a hobby) they talk about the area before those last two letters: XX99.9

In this case, the Gardeners Arms Alderton is in GL20.8: the Manor B&B is in SN 14.6. That doesn't mean they HAVE to be 50 miles apart - but it's a strong indication they may be more than an hour's walk away from each other. Given the frequency with which village names duplicate, high-level destination planning is actually easier if you use the first half of the postcode (XX99, which can be as short as X9) as your basic tool
.
England also has the phenomenon of place names nearly duplicating. I've half a dozen "Shiptons" or "Shipstons" within a 15 minute drive
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Old Jun 22nd, 2021, 03:12 AM
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As the person who confused the two Aldertons in the first place, can I apologise for starting this discursion. I think I was confused by seeing Alderton, Gloucestershire when the Alderton where the poster will be staying is actually in Wiltshire, although very close to the county border. I missed the actual location near Tewkesbury.

Some places with very similar names are in fact connected, which I believe is the case with West Hoathly and East Hoathly in Sussex, geographically some miles apart. In Gloucestershire, and not far from Alderton, are Oldbury on Severn and Oldbury on the Hill. About ten mies apart, both have churches dedicated to St Arild. The legend of St Arild, and much more, can be found online.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2021, 06:20 AM
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What a useful “information session” on naming-postcodes correlation and history You guys are the best So here is the question; trying to work out alternatives to our first stop.

I found 2-night availability in The Quarrymans Arms, Corsham, which seems like a quaint inn. So the option would be to break-up our 4 nights: stay 2 nights in Corsham and 2 nights in Alderton (our existing booking). I might be splitting hair here, but still…wanna get it right.

Option 2 - stay all 4 nights at Guyers House Hotel, Corsham. Maybe somebody stayed there or know the place? Looks ok, but not sure.

Option 3 - stay 2 nights at The Quarrymans Arms and afterwards, 2 nights in Bath, in any of these: Hotel Indigo, Abbey Hotel Bath, The Queensberry Hotel. Generally speaking, I’m not after such hotels this time: regular city hotel, city vibe, not much novel etc., and rather prefer smth quaint/rustic and authentic, but maybe it's worth staying in Bath? 2 night might be ok?

Option 4 - go back to our initial plan and stay 2 days in Oxford, rent a car, drive down to Alderton (our existing booking)and stay 2 nights there, with day trips to Bath and Castle Combe. I guess my question here would be whether 2 nights are enough to cover those two places.

Option 5 - keep the existing booking, chill and try out Alderton
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Old Jun 22nd, 2021, 06:29 AM
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option 4 looks good to me, enough time, yes
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Old Jun 22nd, 2021, 06:47 AM
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If you are staying at Alderton and have a car, then there a lot of good places to visit within reasonable travelling distance. You could also go to places like Castle Combe in an evening, when they are much less busy. One place you may not be aware of is Great Chalfield Manor, with its great hall. It is National Trust, and all N.T. properties currently have to be booked in advance.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2021, 07:12 AM
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Originally Posted by chartley
If you are staying at Alderton and have a car, then there a lot of good places to visit within reasonable travelling distance. You could also go to places like Castle Combe in an evening, when they are much less busy. One place you may not be aware of is Great Chalfield Manor, with its great hall. It is National Trust, and all N.T. properties currently have to be booked in advance.
chartley , Castle Combe in an evening is a good point; didn't think from that perspective! I imagine one can find quite a few pubs/restaurants there as well. Thanks for pointing out Great Chalfield Manor! I've made a list of all National Trust sites in Cotswolds, to choose from for visiting based on our base/proximity, but somehow missed that one. And yes, you are right, most of the NT properties need pre-booking, except some, when visiting gardens only like Snowshill Manor and gardens, and some - when visiting on weekdays after 2 PM, like Hidcote
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Old Jun 22nd, 2021, 07:46 AM
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I'd do all 4 nights in Corsham if possible. I've stayed in the village but not at Guyers Court. It is quite a bit larger, has pubs/restaurants, is a little more convenient to Bath/Lacock/Castle Combe. Plus less faffing about with extra packing/unpacking/checking in/out
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Old Jun 22nd, 2021, 08:02 AM
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Originally Posted by janisj
I'd do all 4 nights in Corsham if possible. I've stayed in the village but not at Guyers Court. It is quite a bit larger, has pubs/restaurants, is a little more convenient to Bath/Lacock/Castle Combe. Plus less faffing about with extra packing/unpacking/checking in/out
Yeah, agree. If The Quarrymans Arms was available for 4-night stay I would've gone for that option straight away. And the only other one I could find for 4 nights is Guyers...so frustrating
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